Observations about and lessons learned from living life with Labrador retrievers

Friday, June 19, 2009

Sun! (and Ya Gotta Luv Him)

We've been going a little stir crazy over here.

I'm not complaining, mind you, but we've had weeks and weeks of rain (necessary and welcome here after consecutive years of drought), and that means the canine crew doesn't get much outdoor time.

So imagine their sheer joy when I took them outside this morning to no rain!

Okay, so maybe it wasn't their joy; it was admittedly mine (they couldn't care less what the weather is, as long as they get to be outside). The forecast for today (first time in weeks) was for no rain.

Yay... loads of outdoor play today! We can all be sane!

So I took them outside to romp, and I (of course) threw the Kong toy for who knows how long.

Then I thought to myself, ha cha! ... now they should be good 'n tired and stay out of mischief (my first erroneous conclusion). And then, continuing my thought, I should be able to leave them safely outside while I go inside and get some work done (second erroneous conclusion).

Mistake.

I forget that our big galoot of a sweetie pie is still a puppy. Yup Tuc. He's still a puppy, no matter how adult he looks.

Tell me.. doesn't he look close to grown (again, please forgive the not-quite-crisp images that follow; like the last batch, I took them on the sly through the window/screen so the canine kids wouldn't know I was taking them -- I wanted candid shots!).

Just look at that face!

Look how handsome and regal he (standing) is with Kenya (lying down)! Don't forget to note his tail blur(hehe):

Sidenote: yes, that's my nice clean picnic table again.

See how easy it would be for me to forget he's only a year old? I really can't be faulted for not remembering he's an imp.

So while I was hussling away inside, I happened to glance out the kitchen window. Here's what I saw:

My planter box:

One of the plastic folding tables my human kids gave me for my birthday last year (well, what's left of it):

My daughter's decorative end table (he likes the plastic floor guards on the ends of the metal legs):

Not to worry; Tuc didn't ingest anything. He just chewed.

And it's my fault for leaving things where he could get at them.

Just so you know, however, Kenya, Elsie, Pinot, and Ridge, without exception, lazed about and slept while Tuc was up to his antics. They didn't get into trouble with any of the stuff I left out. It really wasn't that far-fetched to think I could leave end-tables and one dirt-filled planter (no plants) on the deck. The four of them left them alone.

Ah... but they're not puppies.

Tuc is.

So, the sun is shining; the canine crew is happily outdoors; and I'm get things done.